Clergy abuse cases rock Church of Iceland: The Church of England Newspaper, Aug 27, 2010 p 5. August 29, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Abuse, Church of England Newspaper, Church of Iceland.trackback
The Rt. Rev. Ólafur Skúlason, former Bishop of Iceland
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
The Bishop of Iceland, the Rt. Rev. Karl Sigurbjörnsson has denied claims that he ignored accusations of sexual abuse leveled against his predecessor, the Rt. Rev. Ólafur Skúlason. However, the bishop admitted the National Church of Iceland, the Þjóðkirkjan, had “failed these women” who were allegedly victimized by the bishop.
Speaking on the television news discussion show Kastljósið on Aug 23, the bishop said he believes he still has the support of the church and country, and will not heed calls that he resign.
Allegations of cover-ups of clergy sexual abuse have swirled around the Church of Iceland this year. After meeting with Bishop Sigurbjörnsson last week, the Minister of Justice said it was up to the church to implement clear policies on reporting and combating sexual abuse.
The clergy of the state church have been divided over how far they will go in reporting sexual abuse, with one priest, the Rev. Geir Waage of Reykholt telling reporters last week that the sanctity of the confession overrides a law requiring every Icelandic citizen to report sex crimes against children.
In 1996 three women complained to then Pastor Sigurbjörnsson that they had been sexually harassed by his superior, Bishop Skúlason. The complaints were not forwarded to the police, and one of the victims has since claimed Sigurbjörnsson attempted to “hush up” the incidents and urged them to drop their complaints.
“I was just a small pastor,” Bishop Sigurbjörnsson told the Fréttabladid newspaper. “Of course you don’t want to believe something like that. It is the first reaction of all people to be on the defensive. Without a doubt, that’s what the church did in this instance.”
“We have learned from these mistakes,” the bishop conceded. “I regret that there are women out there who have grievance and anger towards the church’s servants, myself included, for having failed them in these matters. It is intolerable to be the subject of such accusations, both for myself, given my position, and the church’s priests in general. Simply intolerable.”
The bishop said in 1996 he attempted to mediate between Bishop Skúlason and his accusers. However, Bishop Skúlason denied the charges and the National Church, a partner of the Church of England under the Porvoo Agreement, took no further actions.
